CFL 2024

[Arty Spooners Bsmnt]

Ford's best quarter (and maybe his last) for the EE.

3 TD strikes in the 4th and he looked good after a mediocre 3 quarters. Nice pitch to Leake for a 67 yard TD in the first quarter.

Fitting that Julienne won it in overtime for the EE. He was the biggest star on the year--absolutely outstanding.


Very small--maybe a few thousand.


I wouldn't have thought of it...yes, very smart call.

Ford didn't play in the second quarter. It was a fun game to be at.

 

[rboomercat90]

Of course the idiot TSN commentators got it all wrong. "Oh no I don't know about this, I don't think thats the right call"

jebus we've been getting punts that long all season. No wind and the guy can kick the laces off. It was a better call than trotting a kicker that hasn't had an attempt and looked nervous.

That and they were far enough downfield where he didn’t have to worry about hitting the speaker. Just let her rip.

 

[bellagiobob]

Lots of teams will be interested but the EE are on the rebound and they play in NFL caliber facilities. All of the CFL players know that. That will count for something in his decision.

He's from Ontario though so I suppose it will be his preferred destination.

I don't think the Argos laid off him tonight--he was outstanding in the 4th quarter. That running ability is rare.

I haven't seen that side arm stuff since the days of Tom Wilkinson.

Hope I’m wrong, but I think it will come down to how disrespected he was by both of his HC’s here, and only played when their chosen ones shit the bed over and over again. Only way I see him coming back is with a new GM and HC. Too bad we didn’t even give him a chance to compete for the starters job this year, such a horrible decision.

 

[joestevens29]

There is reason for optimism next season.

-Julienne is the best EE punter since Hank Ilisec.

-Have to re-sign Lewis and Mitchell at the receiver spot.

-Morgan and Anderson finished 1-2 in CFL tackles this season

-Rankin and Leake (and possibly Brown) make a great trio in the backfield

-Offensive line has been much improved in the 2nd half of the season

New ownership

 

[Drivesaitl]

Said it in another thread but man the Elks D is annoying at times. Another awful outing, giving up essentially everything and one TD drive after another allowed against a third string QB that they're making look like Tom Brady. But there they are celebrating and leaping and dancing anytime they make a tackle. "on wow we made a tackle" That they even spend thier practice time doing this choreography is cringe worthy. I'm starting to really dislike the D on the Elks. Sure they make some plays and have some ballers but overall this season they've been crap and far worse than what they should be. Not even one TD from the D either, the only team in league not to get one.

Only one player on special teams worth retaining. Guess which one. The one that got us the W yesterday.

 

[Drivesaitl]

There is reason for optimism next season.

-Julienne is the best EE punter since Hank Ilisec.

-Have to re-sign Lewis and Mitchell at the receiver spot.

-Morgan and Anderson finished 1-2 in CFL tackles this season

-Rankin and Leake (and possibly Brown) make a great trio in the backfield

-Offensive line has been much improved in the 2nd half of the season

Appreciate your optimism but the tackles stat can often be misleading. The quickest way to lead league in this stat is being on the field allowing long drives almost all the time. Also misleading in that a tackle after a 15yd gain isn't the same as drive stopping. Not all tackles are created the same and Anderson particularly gets a fair amount after first down already made. Really on the whole this D has been pretty awful.

Mitchell? meh. A lot of drops. Another guy that has some games and disappears in others. Lewis ain't worth the pay. Rankin and Leake for sure big seasons from both. Looks like Brown is done. I think Oline has been better as well.

I'm not convinced too much reason for optimism. I think the league is wanting to sell us that story but that was the story at last seasons end as well. Team still finds a lot of ways to lose and were busy looking for it last night too. We beat an Argos team mailing the game in and needing an OT rouge to do it. Was no impressive outing. The D was horrible. They were basically allowing any play all the way down the field.

 

[bellagiobob]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1850268725175550111

https://x.com/i/web/status/1850273823377314219

https://x.com/i/web/status/1850274204056535442

Sounds like he didn’t get his contract renewed. Understatement of the year that they better get this hire right.

 

[Arty Spooners Bsmnt]

Montreal blows the game to give the Bombers a win. Up by two points the Als could have let a wide field goal bounce into the end zone and taken the ball at their own 53 yard line to seal a win. Instead they run it out to around their 20 and crazy strong winds turn against them as they are about to punt the ball away. Oh how I hate the Bombers as much as the refs love them.

 

[Stoneman89]

Our receiving core hasn't looked this good for quite some time. And we have lots of them. Same with the running backs. If they get Ford signed and bring back most of those guys and the O-line doesn't disintegrate, the offence should be decent. I like a couple of the linebackers, and maybe Oakman on the line but the defensive backfield - woof! Maybe one guy. And find a FG kicker, it cost us a couple games at least this year. And for the love of god, use Leake on returns, which is where he really shines. And get rid of the coaching staff and GM and get a good president. Finally, change the name, re-brand and undo all the wrongs that occured 4 years ago. Whew! Lots on the to do list!

 

[MoontoScott]

Appreciate your optimism but the tackles stat can often be misleading. The quickest way to lead league in this stat is being on the field allowing long drives almost all the time. Also misleading in that a tackle after a 15yd gain isn't the same as drive stopping. Not all tackles are created the same and Anderson particularly gets a fair amount after first down already made. Really on the whole this D has been pretty awful.

Mitchell? meh. A lot of drops. Another guy that has some games and disappears in others. Lewis ain't worth the pay. Rankin and Leake for sure big seasons from both. Looks like Brown is done. I think Oline has been better as well.

I'm not convinced too much reason for optimism. I think the league is wanting to sell us that story but that was the story at last seasons end as well. Team still finds a lot of ways to lose and were busy looking for it last night too. We beat an Argos team mailing the game in and needing an OT rouge to do it. Was no impressive outing. The D was horrible. They were basically allowing any play all the way down the field.

I don't think Mitchell drops too many? He has turned into a very good possession receiver. He, along with punter Julienne are 2 of the few Eskies who have been consistently good over the last few seasons.

Lewis is still an elite receiver and game breaker and will be difficult to replace. I suspect he moves back East in the off season

Morgan and Anderson will be quickly snapped up if the EE let them go to free agency. They are both beasts.

I thought the Argos played a pretty good game. It didn't look to me that they were mailing it in.

Ford made some mistakes but he was outstanding on those 3 TDs in the 4th quarter. I think that's where he is better than MBT. A very different type of QB but to me MBT can't get it done on the last minute drives. Also, Ford is still very inexperienced. How many starts has he had on a football team that is amongst the worst in CFL history?

 

[Dust]

Montreal blows the game to give the Bombers a win. Up by two points the Als could have let a wide field goal bounce into the end zone and taken the ball at their own 53 yard line to seal a win. Instead they run it out to around their 20 and crazy strong winds turn against them as they are about to punt the ball away. Oh how I hate the Bombers as much as the refs love them.

They should have won either way (CFL rules would put the ball at the 40, not the 53). The returner ran it out to the 23 yard line which isn't bad field position. It was the 21 yard punt afterwards that gifted the Bombers the win. I don't remember ever, a shank that badly late in game. These last few years the Bombers have had a lucky horseshoe up their blow hole, on top of being a pretty good team

 

[Drivesaitl]

I don't think Mitchell drops too many? He has turned into a very good possession receiver. He, along with punter Julienne are 2 of the few Eskies who have been consistently good over the last few seasons.

Lewis is still an elite receiver and game breaker and will be difficult to replace. I suspect he moves back East in the off season

Morgan and Anderson will be quickly snapped up if the EE let them go to free agency. They are both beasts.

I thought the Argos played a pretty good game. It didn't look to me that they were mailing it in.

Ford made some mistakes but he was outstanding on those 3 TDs in the 4th quarter. I think that's where he is better than MBT. A very different type of QB but to me MBT can't get it done on the last minute drives. Also, Ford is still very inexperienced. How many starts has he had on a football team that is amongst the worst in CFL history?

Mitchell and Lewis were not great to start season when everything is on the line. They certainly contributed to the 0-7 start and were both underwhelming. Lewis got going as season went on.

Yeah agreed Morgan and Anderson are good, not saying otherwise. But the D as a whole, I don't know wht it is, but they all find ways to break down and no real big plays, no return TD's etc. D statistically is one of worst in league in every category and they shouldn't be.

Respectfully disagree on the Argos game. They were playing their third string QB most of the game and not a lot of starting D in there either. Like as per usual the team headed to playoffs is just looking to avoid injuries. Look what happened with Riders today. Same deal.

Ford isn't young anymore. Turning 27 in a few months.

my concern each year is Ford is getting it done in garbage time in meaningless games. I think it makes it appear he's better than he is. He's good against weaker squads or teams not even trying. he almost to the stamps and almost lost yesterday. He's not putting ANY games away.

 

[Arty Spooners Bsmnt]

They should have won either way (CFL rules would put the ball at the 40, not the 53). The returner ran it out to the 23 yard line which isn't bad field position. It was the 21 yard punt afterwards that gifted the Bombers the win. I don't remember ever, a shank that badly late in game. These last few years the Bombers have had a lucky horseshoe up their blow hole, on top of being a pretty good team

It was like a gale force wind came up blowing leaves from a hundred yards away right into the face of the freaking punter, it was unbelievable.

If the ball was at the forty and he kicked a 21 yard punt Winnipeg would have lost the game.

 

[Drivesaitl]

It was like a gale force wind came up blowing leaves from a hundred yards away right into the face of the freaking punter, it was unbelievable.

Winds are finally turning on Quebec. Couldn't help making that comment.

jk aside Mcgill stadium is not far from MountRoyal park and lots of nice colored leaves around there. The "stadium" is a shithole.

Mcgill stadium. Fans paying to sit on actual concrete or aluminum benches. No backrests. All the luxury of an awful Highschool Bowl.

 

[rboomercat90]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1850268725175550111

https://x.com/i/web/status/1850273823377314219

https://x.com/i/web/status/1850274204056535442

Sounds like he didn’t get his contract renewed. Understatement of the year that they better get this hire right.

There was so much hope for this guy when he got the job too. That he crashed and burned as bad as he did is really discouraging. The lost season to COVID didn’t help but things were already going off the rails. Not sure who is going to be next or even if there’s a credible candidate who wants the job now. Every commissioner for decades seems to leave the league in worse shape than they found it.

 

[brentashton]

There was so much hope for this guy when he got the job too. That he crashed and burned as bad as he did is really discouraging. The lost season to COVID didn’t help but things were already going off the rails. Not sure who is going to be next or even if there’s a credible candidate who wants the job now. Every commissioner for decades seems to leave the league in worse shape than they found it.

This.

I too had high hope and praise for RA upon his hire to move the league forward, new broadcast options globally, new franchises in Halifax etc.. Now I’m probably one of his staunchest detractors. The guy has muddled everything he has touched.

Since the days of Jake Gaudaur I can only think of 2 Commissioners that were reasonably effective: Larry Smith & Mark Cohon. Bill Baker would have been a 3rd but his short tenure disqualifies him in my estimation.

Someone earlier said they need to get this hire correct. Yes and no. The league will attract a MOR, average candidate as anyone who is really a builder and visionary probably wouldn’t be attracted to this project. Whoever they attract will middle along until the next average hire.

It really is a 3rd rate sports league, it’s not Big 4 in NA and it’s not even lumped in with other attractive sport properties like NASCAR, F1, numerous soccer leagues, emerging women sports basketball, hockey, soccer etc… the list goes on and on. It’s niche for a dwindling number of fans and viewers. I think if TSN ever moved away from it, it would be toast. No one else would pick up the broadcast rights. CFL would try to do it themselves for a few years, mess it up and then it would be done, in a pool of red ink.

 

[McDrai]

Montreal blows the game to give the Bombers a win. Up by two points the Als could have let a wide field goal bounce into the end zone and taken the ball at their own 53 yard line to seal a win. Instead they run it out to around their 20 and crazy strong winds turn against them as they are about to punt the ball away. Oh how I hate the Bombers as much as the refs love them.

Some of that hatred might stem from the Bombers dominating us for the past few years. Is it true that we haven’t beaten them in the regular season since 2018? That would be insane if true.

 

[Stoneman89]

There was so much hope for this guy when he got the job too. That he crashed and burned as bad as he did is really discouraging. The lost season to COVID didn’t help but things were already going off the rails. Not sure who is going to be next or even if there’s a credible candidate who wants the job now. Every commissioner for decades seems to leave the league in worse shape than they found it.

I honestly didn't think they could do any worse than Jeffery Orridge, but somehow, they managed.

 

[brentashton]

I honestly didn't think they could do any worse than Jeffery Orridge, but somehow, they managed.

Somewhere Victor Cui is updating his LinkedIn page. (Shudders).

 

[Drivesaitl]

Some of that hatred might stem from the Bombers dominating us for the past few years. Is it true that we haven’t beaten them in the regular season since 2018? That would be insane if true.

If you're an older fan you hate the Als more. Nothing ever was worse than the Staple bowl. Deplorable really that it was allowed. Players were picking staples out of their body for days because the league ruled that it was fine for AL's players to staple thier cleats on a slippery messy field. Staples everywhere and bleeding on every tackle. Stupidest thing in sports I've seen.

 

[Stoneman89]

If you're an older fan you hate the Als more. Nothing ever was worse than the Staple bowl. Deplorable really that it was allowed. Players were picking staples out of their body for days because the league ruled that it was fine for AL's players to staple thier cleats on a slippery messy field. Staples everywhere and bleeding on every tackle. Stupidest thing in sports I've seen.

What in the hell are you talking about and where do you get your information from, honestly?